I plan to save a lot of money while going to college because if there is one thing I hate more than anything else, it’s debt…especially student loans.
I plan to go to Harrisburg Area Community College for 2 years, then move on to Penn State Harrisburg for 2 years. I will be majoring in accounting and will most definitely pass my CPA (I like accounting quite a bit and am determined).
However, my goal is to work for the Big 4 for around 3-4 years as something to put on my resume, then move on to mid-tier accounting firms later on. Will the Big 4 still recruit me despite me going to community college for 2 years then Penn State Harrisburg for 2 years, or do they really care? I am determined to stay top of my class, so I don’t see why employers should really care where you went to college as long as you did really well.
–You should check with career placement at Penn State Harrisburg to see if the Big 4 recruit there, to what extent they recruit, what GPA is needed to get an interview, etc. Ask if they do have a history of interviewing people who transfer in from CCs. That is the only place your question can be answered with any degree or accuracy.
–The Big 4 do not interview at every college and in general the lower the tier college they interview at the higher the GPA cutoff is to get an interview. That reflects the competitiveness of the college, peer group etc.
–In order to become a CPA one needs 150 credit hours (a typical bachelors degree is around 120 credit hours). Many students go on for a one year MS in accounting, others can use AP credits/summer school credits to get to the 150 credit limit in 4 years.
–Don’t plan out your career yet. Get the best first job you can and take things from there.
The Big Four will not care whether you attended a community college or not. It is important where you ultimately get your degree. I believe the flagship school, PSU at University Park, would be the better choice vs.the other PSU campuses. The Big Four probabably allocate more “spots” for hire at the University Park campus than the other campuses.
In addition to the requirements stated above by @happy1, you need to follow a time line to start early. 3 years before your intended graduation date, you should apply for the 2 days leadership program offered in the summer by each Big 4. Canidates in this programs are selected for the following summer’s internship program of each Big 4 firm. A high percentage of the following year’s hires are selected from the summer internship programs. What spots are left, after the internship offers, are very competitive because there may be very few spots left.
Be involved or join organizations in your college, like Beta Alpha Psi, an accounting honor society.
If you are attending a community college, you might plan to consider a 5th year of college, whether it is a Masters in Accounting or additional units to meet the 150 unit requirement to sit for the CPA exam. That is because you will not have grades posted from your college (PSU) when you start the time line early while participating early in the interview process.
@UCBUSCalum Yeah, I know that PSU main campus is probably better in terms of recruitment, but my options are severely limited. My parents literally didn’t save any money for college whatsoever (even though they make around 70k a year), so I really doubt that there will be much financial aid for me. My goal is to have less than 30k of student debt…with living on the PSU main campus, I doubt I’ll be able to have even less than 50k.
Not a fan of living in a dorm, mainly because (again), I don’t have money to pay for the costs, food, services etc. If I wanted to drive to the main campus, I’d have to commute every day front and back home 2 hours (4 hours driving total).
Idk is it worth driving 4 hours total…you just waste a 1/6 of your day just driving.
And doesn’t a 5th year of college pretty much negate what I saved through community college? Do you think I can still get a really good job (in terms of internships) even if I go to Penn State Harrisburg for 4 years instead of splitting it w/ community college?
I’m passionate about this stuff…but unfortunately, the financial situation currently heavily restricts my options.
You don’t necessarily have to have a 5th year if you want to be able to sit for the CPA exam. You just need the 150 units, whether it is acheived by taking extra courses during the summer, going to a community college or taking extension courses. As @happy1 says above, check with the PSU Harrisburg placement office if the Big 4 firms recruit there. If not, you may just have to send out your resume. I was only suggesting a timeline to get a summer internship because a high percentage of Big 4 offers come from the summer internship program. It is very competitive to get an offer from a Big 4 firm.
Agree that you don’t need a fifth year as I noted in my post, but you do need to find a way to get to the 150 credits needed to become a CPA. Big 4 firms won’t extend a full time offer to a candidate until he/she will have 150 credits (CPA eligible) before the start date. You can, however, sit for the CPA exam before you get the 150 credits as long as you have met your state’s requirements to sit for the exam (my S took two parts of the exam during his MS program).
I would really try to see if you can make Penn State-University Park financially feasible. I know it might be tough, but Big 4 recruiting would be much easier from there. I agree with other posters that starting at a CC will not hold you back.
Another option is you could go to Harrisburg and if you strike out on Big 4, you could check out some MAcc programs at schools that are more heavily recruited. These might be more expensive than you like, but you might be able to receive a scholarship if you have a good GPA and GMAT scores.
Also, if your a senior in high school, what are you stats? If you’re willing to look out-of-state and have strong stats, you might have some options that with merit aid might even be cheaper than going the CC to Penn State route and are at places more heavily recruited by Big 4.